Research: Optimizing RF Energy Harvesting Circuits for Batteryless Sensor Tags in Urban...

Research question: How can RF energy harvesting circuit architectures be optimized to reliably power batteryless sensor tags in variable urban RF environments?

Background & Motivation: The proliferation of wireless sensor networks in IoT applications has intensified interest in batteryless sensor tags powered by ambient energy, particularly RF signals from urban sources such as cellular towers and Wi-Fi routers. RF energy harvesting offers the potential for maintenance-free operation, reducing environmental impact and operational costs.

Research Gap: Existing literature often addresses RF energy harvesting under idealized or laboratory conditions, neglecting the unpredictable and highly variable RF landscape of urban environments. There is limited research on circuit architectures that maximize energy extraction and conversion efficiency in such real-world settings.

Approach & Expected Contribution: The project will systematically review RF harvesting architectures, model urban RF energy availability, and experimentally evaluate circuit designs using real RF measurements. The study aims to identify design principles and propose optimization strategies for reliable operation of batteryless sensor tags. Contributions include validated modelling methods and a set of design recommendations for urban deployment.

Impact: This research advances the feasibility of scalable, maintenance-free sensor networks for smart city, environmental monitoring, and infrastructure applications, addressing a critical challenge in sustainable electronics and IoT deployment.